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Fri, 31 Jul 2015 00:22:58 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=200Think You Can’t Survive on Social Media? 16 Tips to Make Your Boring, Weird, or Unsexy Brand Stand Outhttps://contentequalsmoney.com/think-you-cant-survive-on-social-media-16-tips-to-make-your-boring-weird-or-unsexy-brand-stand-out/
https://contentequalsmoney.com/think-you-cant-survive-on-social-media-16-tips-to-make-your-boring-weird-or-unsexy-brand-stand-out/#respondWed, 09 Apr 2014 14:46:40 +0000https://contentequalsmoney.com/?p=14328There are many brands out there that may think they can’t gain a following on social media – the boring, the weird, and the unsexy. Whether you’re selling software, nails, period products, or office supplies, it may be difficult for your brand to engage with its audience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social networks. However, plenty of boring, weird, and unsexy brands are rocking it on social media, and you can, too. With these 10 examples of brands you wouldn’t expect to have a social following and 16 tips to help you out, your boring, weird, or unsexy brand can thrive on social media.

10 Brands Doing it Right

General Electric

While it may be a big boring brand, GE is seriously killing it on social media. First, GE has taken on the full range of social networks – they provide education on Facebook, offer visual content on Pinterest and Instagram, and show their sillier side on Twitter. Second, GE takes visual engagement by storm. They offer compelling, high quality images in addition to YouTube videos and infographics. Check out their Pinterest page above, which catches the user’s attention with engaging headlines such as “Badass Machines.”

Cisco

A giant in the field of networking, you might not expect Cisco to be able to engage their audience on social media. Despite the complex technology their brand focuses on, Cisco has managed to succeed on social media by posting useful information, eye-catching images, and user-friendly stats. Take a look at their YouTube channel above, which has over 70,000 subscribers and more than 11 million views.

Aon PLC

A brokerage firm, Aon PLC manages to make their boring field exciting on social media through personal branding. They bring the focus to their team, showing pictures of them taking part in community projects and charitable events. The screenshot above of their Facebook page is an example of this, showing team members taking part in a company fundraiser for the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

Maze Nails

In business since 1848, Maze Nails is perhaps the last brand you’d expect to see on Facebook. However, as their Facebook page states in the photo above, “Who ever said nails are boring!!” They engage their audience by showcasing their customers, posting plenty of photos, and focusing on the historical component of their company.

Mr. Clean

While there may not be a way to make cleaning products sexy, Mr. Clean at least knows how to make them fun. They post hilarious tweets such as the two above, with an incredibly entertaining self-mocking tone.

Bodyform

For companies that sell period products, creating engaging social media content is no easy feat. Bodyform managed to gain a record number of views on YouTube after posting two videos in response to a complaint from a male user on their Facebook page that advertisements for feminine products are a lie – periods aren’t actually that much fun! While the first video focusing on his Facebook post gained over 740,000 views alone, the CEO of Bodyform created a hilariously sarcastic response video that was viewed over 5.4 million times.

Hello Flo

Another period product company, Hello Flo created a YouTube following in the same way as Bodyform: being funny. Their viral video, Camp Gyno, focuses on a young girl getting her period for the first time at summer camp. She uses frank language rather than the euphemisms that typically dominate period ads, making this commercial funny and refreshing. The video gained over 6.7 million views.

Tampax

Yet another brand focused on period products, Tampax takes social media by storm by hosting contests and drawing user participation. The screenshot above of their Facebook page shows a recent contest to win Demi Lovato tickets, promoting their new Radiant Collection with Always. In the past, they’ve also hosted The Awesomely Active Girl Challenge on Facebook and Twitter, a contest in which women submitted photos of themselves being active to win $500 and a year’s worth of tampons.

Staples

Similarly to Mr. Clean, Staples thrives on Twitter by posting funny, conversational tweets that focus less on their products and more on their audience. For example, the tweets above show their hashtag, #officelife, which they use to tweet about funny and relatable office situations.

Sharpie

How can you make markers fun? Draw with them! Sharpie showcases what their brand is all about by posting captivating images on Instagram of their products in action. The screenshot above shows some of the incredible images that Sharpie is sharing.

Tips for Your Social Media Strategy

Shift your mindset: The first step in making sure your boring, weird, or unsexy brand survives on social media is to shift your own mindset – if you think your brand is boring, everyone else will, too! Un-box your brand and resolve to showcase the ways it can be fun and exciting on social media.

Choose the right network: Choose a social network that works for your brand – don’t try to make your brand work for a certain social network. Can you post amazing visuals? Try Instagram. Want to show your humorous side? Get snarky on Twitter. Offering video tutorials to your audience? Use YouTube.

Make sharing easy: Once you’ve created content, ensure that people can share it. Add social share buttons to blogs and even products if it works for your brand. The easier it is to share, the more engaged the audience will be.

Follow the 80/20 rule: When posting on social media, it’s important to follow the 80/20 rule – only post about your brand 20% of the time, and 80% of content should be about something else. Showcase your community, share relevant articles for your audience, and promote other content that shows you care about the audience, not only about your brand’s success.

Use humor: As we’ve seen in the brand examples above, one of the best ways to market any brand is to use humor. Hello Flo and Bodyform created hilarious period videos that went viral, and Staples and Mr. Clean use Twitter to show off their silly side. Find a way to make your brand funny, and capitalize on it.

Be a real person: To build a relationship with your audience on social media, be a real person. Ensure that your audience knows there’s a real person, not only a brand or corporation, behind every post.

Find related topics: Consider what other types of information are relevant to your audience through related topics. For example, pharmacies can post about wellness, software companies can discuss new tech products, and those that sell period products can talk about women’s health.

Create useful content: Another way to draw an audience in is to share content that is useful to them. Even if you’re selling a boring product, customers still need to know how to use it – offer how-to posts, product guides, and other informational content that’s sharable on social media.

Show off your team: In the examples above, Aon PLC stands out by showcasing photos of their team getting involved in the community. Showing of your team and illustrating the ways your company is involved in the community humanizes your brand.

Share customer experiences: Social media is all about connecting with customers. Encourage them to post on your social media page with photos of themselves using your products and reviews of your company. Giving customers a voice will provide them with a sense of loyalty to your brand.

Create contests: Tampax makes period products exciting by hosting contests on social media. Whether the prize is a year’s supply of tampons or Demi Lovato tickets, your audience will love the chance to participate and win prizes.

Host live events: Hosting live events on social media will bring your boring, weird, or unsexy brand to life. Try holding a live Q&A using Google+ Hangouts and let your audience get to know your brand on a personal level.

Post high quality images: Many of the brands discussed above stand out on social media by posting high quality images that captivate their audience. Need inspiration? Check out this list of 25 boring companies that have amazing cover photos on various social networks.

Try podcasts & videos: Take your social media strategy a step further by posting even more interactive content: podcasts and videos. You can try a weekly podcast that focuses on key industry topics or a series of instructional videos for your most popular products.

Appeal to the nerds: Even the most boring brands have dedicated followers – the industry nerds. Appeal to the nerds in your industry by learning what types of content really draws them in, be it crazy stats or an inside look at how your products are manufactured.

Start a conversation: Last but not least, remember that social media is about starting a conversation. Be conversational in your social posts, and invite the audience to lend their voice to the topic at hand.

How has your boring, weird, or unsexy brand stepped up its social media strategy?

]]>https://contentequalsmoney.com/think-you-cant-survive-on-social-media-16-tips-to-make-your-boring-weird-or-unsexy-brand-stand-out/feed/0Can Your Marketing Plan Keep Up with Evolving Social Media?https://contentequalsmoney.com/marketing-with-evolving-social-media/
https://contentequalsmoney.com/marketing-with-evolving-social-media/#respondMon, 17 Feb 2014 16:33:15 +0000https://contentequalsmoney.com/?p=13922Facebook is turning ten years old, but this forerunner in social networking isn’t showing its age. Instead, the site has celebrated with a new feature – “look back” videos that offer a glimpse into an individual’s past on the site. This “look back” is just another way that Facebook is looking forward and taking other social media platforms with it.

As the social networks go, so too must companies follow, bringing with them innovative marketing strategies. Social networking has forever changed how modern companies market and brand themselves in a variety of ways.

Platforms Are Smarter

Social media marketing has outstripped print advertising because it is much more intelligent on a data level. This increased intelligence makes social networking-based marketing more personal and, therefore, more engaging to the individual consumer. Before social networking, businesses had to sift through a range of demographic data to find their target audiences, but social networking platforms aggregate this data and even track a range of information about internet use, such as search terms and click-throughs. You can’t begin to compare the uncertainty of sending traditional mail, or even email, with the precision of marketing done through big social networks.

Communities Are Stronger

With social media marketing, the emphasis on clients and customers has shifted toward a focus on friends, neighbors, classmates, and the like. When businesses post to social networking platforms, it is important that the material not be presented in a way that is pushy or overwhelming, and that content doesn’t sound automated. One of the most powerful changes that businesses have made in social networking is a shift to Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) that are used to foster community. ESNs can merge components of marketing and service into one, creating strong bonds between companies and customers.

Customers Can Opt-Out

You can’t opt out of a billboard. You can turn the page in a magazine, but next month’s magazine will have ads in it. With social networking, you can be “unfollowed” and disappear from the radar. Content needs to be worth customers’ time – or else they will opt out. To prevent customers from turning away, it is important to produce consistent, high quality material and, perhaps even more importantly, to not be overwhelming in terms of content quantity. Too much content interferes with what customers are “really” using social networks for – like reading a friend’s status or seeing pictures of a new baby in the family. When customers opt-out, you become invisible, so it is important to steer carefully around issues of content quality and quantity.

Trends Fade Fast

You may think you finally have a handle on a new platform, but next week customers will be using it differently or will have migrated somewhere else completely. Adapting and even staying ahead of the curve is essential with these rapid changes. New becomes old quickly, and a stale marketing ploy will cause customers to leave you in the dust.

Staying Fresh in 2014

To keep your business on the radar this year, you’ll need to keep moving forward by testing out new strategies for capturing the constantly expanding social media market. With new platforms popping up all the time, the capacity to adapt to different media formats and understand user demographics is critical. In 2014, try turning your focus to these social media strategies for marketing success:

Put community ahead of click-throughs – This year, it will be crucial to focus on building community, rather than earning click-throughs on site ads. Click-through ads are becomingly increasingly unpopular as users shift to building community on social media. Rather than engaging through its ads, customers will notice the way you interact with them – a factor that will be key for marketing success. Consider those personal and social interactions an advertisement for your company – an advertisement that shows the high priority you place on community, customer service, friendliness, and accessibility. Those interactions may not look like typical ads, but they will influence who comes to your site. The only difference is that customers will navigate to you independently of the ad – they don’t want or need a click-through.

Don’t forget Google+ – It’s taken some time, but in 2014 Google+ will finally take off as a networking platform. Increasingly, users are shifting to Google+ and businesses will be able to benefit from their promoted post system. These highlighted posts will get greater visibility on the platform, ranking more highly than other social content. Now is the time to start breaking into those Google+ circles that organize the site and to start building community.

Focus on image – In 2014, marketing through images will be critical. Social networking with a focus on images, such as through Instagram and Tumblr, will be increasingly popular with all demographics. Find ways to integrate this image focus into your marketing plan, and don’t forget that video is the ultimate condensation of images – it too will be a core marketing medium this year. Additionally, with sites like Tumblr becoming more central to marketing, companies should think about how well their images and text travel. After all, if it can’t be shared, it won’t be seen.

Be bold and take risks – This is the year to take risks to stay timely. With the speed that social media marketing evolves, it can be difficult to predict what will work. Overworking ideas will cause you to fall behind the times and the competition, so now is the time to risk releasing new concepts and campaigns. The beauty of social media is that when a new concept is a flop, it gets buried and forgotten quickly – but marketing tactics that work go viral and become ubiquitous. Social media also places a central emphasis on creativity and fun, so risks will be rewarded more often than you may think.

Are you ready to keep pace with social networking in 2014? Tell us how you’ll stay fresh and which tips you’ll use to stay ahead of the curve.

Working online also has drawbacks: Twitter conversations, cat videos, and BuzzFeed.

How do we deal with this situation?

Patience, practice, and these seven tips. (The Twitter conversations, cat videos, and BuzzFeed will still be there when you take breaks and go home at the end of the day. I promise.)

4 Anti-Distraction Tips

These tips may not work for everyone, but don’t let that disclaimer be your excuse for not giving them a try…

#1 Check Email Twice a Day

The more projects I take on, the more emails I get. Funny how that works, right? While some of them are important, virtually none of them require immediate attention. Instead of reading and responding to emails all day, why not try Tim Ferriss’s 11 am and 4 pm email-check-and-response method?

#2 Use Headphones

A little white noise goes a long way. Whether you’re working in a busy coffee shop or in a cubicle next to a chatty co-worker (who could benefit from this article), white noise + headphones = a winning combination.

#3 Stop Multitasking

We all think we’re good at multitasking. But we’re not really – not when it comes to mentally demanding, brain-power-consuming activities like our work. When you’re “involved” in social media, writing, and your email, you’re not really involved in any single task. So, stop multitasking and focus on one project/task at a time when working online.

#4 Schedule Your Distractions

Distraction isn’t totally evil. We all need a little distraction to avoid going crazy. But that time should be scheduled. Maybe you need a 10-minute break every hour. Maybe a half-hour break in the morning and one in the afternoon. When you schedule your “distraction time” it won’t have nearly the same destructive impact on your productivity!

3 Tools to Eliminate Distraction

Good tips, but what do they look like in practice? Use these online distraction-fighting tools (all of which are free)…

#1 Self-Control

Self-Control is the granddaddy of all block-access tools. You download the app, tell it what sites you don’t want access to (and for how long), and start the timer. Once you’ve started the timer, you cannot use that website.

The reason this app is really impressive? Even if you restart your computer or delete the app, you’re still under its power! (Of course, you can always open another browser, but c’mon, Self-Control can’t save you from yourself!) Here are two Windowsversions Self-Control recommends.

#2 Focus Booster / Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo breaks time into 25-minute intervals. The idea is that you work for 25 minutes (a “pomodoro”) and then take a five-minute break. Once every four pomodoros, you break for 15-20 minutes.

Mac users used to have a helpful app called Think that would blur everything on the screen except the one app they were working with. It seems the developer’s website and the app have both disappeared.

Fortunately, there’s an even better alternative: Single Application Mode. With a short snippet of code (see the link), you can make everything on your screen disappear (apps, background, icons, etc.) except the one application you’re working in.

What are some of your favorite apps for eliminating distractions and boosting productivity while working online? Share them in the comments section below!

]]>https://contentequalsmoney.com/eliminate-distraction/feed/0Social Media Shines During Boston Marathon Bombinghttps://contentequalsmoney.com/social-media-boston-marathon/
https://contentequalsmoney.com/social-media-boston-marathon/#respondTue, 16 Apr 2013 14:26:45 +0000http://contentequalsmoney.com/?p=9475On April 15th, one of the symbols of Massachusetts Patriots Day and much more, the Boston Marathon, fell victim to bombings from an unknown source. The news broke early in the afternoon of the 15th and spread like wildfire thanks to cable television and the internet. As it has done in the past, social media played an important role in not only comforting and informing millions of people, but also helping with disaster relief and helping the investigation.

Twitter, Facebook Lead with Information

The Boston area became my new adopted home back in January. I’ve loved living here so far, and this horrible attack doesn’t change any of that. I heard about the attacks shortly after they occurred. As we’ve learned over the years from crises and disasters, Twitter is an amazing source of information. That’s where I went to find out what was going on.

Twitter was immediately full of concern, condolences, and information from outlets around the country. Finding out what was happening in what was essentially real time helped myself and many others to make sense of the situation as best we could. As cell phone service in downtown Boston failed, Twitter and Facebook became the primary way to communicate for those in that area.

Not long after the news broke, a Twitter Vine video was the first to show footage of the bombs. To me, this was amazing. Vine showed that it’s not only an excellent tool for businesses, agencies, and individuals, it can also be an immediate source of information bringing with it more than 140 characters could hope to.

Facebook, for its part, was able to help people connect with loved ones and friends. I can’t tell you how comforting it was to know that the friends I knew in the area were safe and sound. Without social media I probably wouldn’t have known.

I think Dan Gilgoff and Jane J. Lee capture how important social media was during this disaster for National Geographic when they wrote: “As word spread of the blasts on Monday afternoon, social media seemed shaped by every aspect of the response, from runners giving their accounts of the race-turned-nightmare on Facebook, to authorities using Twitter to give instant updates, to The Boston Globe temporarily converting its homepage to a live blog that pulled in Tweets from Boston authorities, news outlets, and ordinary citizens.”

Google’s People Finder

Google released a powerful tool to help concerned friends and family locate those they were worried or concerned about. Google’s People Finder for the Boston Marathon has already managed to track 5200 records.

In addition to that, a Google Drive document has been used to help organize housing for the hundreds who did not have a place to stay after the marathon. As Sam Laird reports for Mashable, “The Boston Globe’s digital arm asked locals to offer extra space to Boston Marathon runners and spectators stranded in town.” A Google Drive document was created shortly after and has since turned into a long, heartwarming list of people who care and are opening their homes.

Latest on the Disaster

According to CNN, over 150 people have been injured with some still in critical condition. Three people have died, including an 8-year-old boy. Hopefully those numbers do not continue to grow, as they have been since the news first broke.

The investigation is still ongoing. What’s frustrating to me is that no one has claimed responsibility. Many of us are waiting to find out who did this and why they did it. You can bet social media will be the first to spread the word, whoever is responsible.

If you’re a business or agency, now is a great time to express your solidarity with those who have suffered and with the city of Boston. Offer suggestions about how people can help, and be sincere, clear, and straightforward. Unfortunately there are still businesses and people that will rightly or wrongly come across as insincere or taking advantage of the situation. They pay the price online, though.

Final Words

This bombing was a terrible event. I wanted to share with anyone who reads this an important article posted in The Atlantic written by Bruce Schneier. Bruce reminds us about a lot of things, but he closes with, “Empathize, but refuse to be terrorized. Instead, be indomitable – and support leaders who are as well. That’s how to defeat terrorists.”

]]>https://contentequalsmoney.com/social-media-boston-marathon/feed/0Epic Fail, Bro: 7 Major Marketing Failshttps://contentequalsmoney.com/epic-fail-bro-7-major-marketing-fails/
https://contentequalsmoney.com/epic-fail-bro-7-major-marketing-fails/#commentsThu, 26 Jul 2012 18:52:18 +0000http://contentequalsmoney.com/?p=4816Okay, it happens. We all make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. We try our best and sometimes we come out on top, sometimes we fail miserably. But at least we tried our best, right? In our personal lives that all may be true, but unless we’re trying to impress the cute maid of honor in front of all the guests at the wedding, we’re rarely marketing ourselves in such a public forum that we stand to truly suffer.

But such is life in the public eye. When you’re a business, small or large, there are risks to marketing and advertising. And when putting your name out there as a business it becomes significantly more important to make sure your message and methods are well-planned and even more carefully executed. Otherwise, you’ll end up like New Coke or Crystal Pepsi — a marketing train-wreck from which people just can’t avert their gaze.

Not all marketing fails are globally bad; in fact some are fairly minor. But a marketing fail is a marketing fail is a marketing fail. Today, we’ll discuss several different marketing fails, and we’ll divide them up into two categories.

The Bad

The Mobile Marketing Fail

Mobile marketing is increasingly becoming a necessary marketing venue for companies. It’s relatively less competitive, very targeted, and your audience is captive. But even in mobile marketing it’s possible to completely and utterly fail — in fact there’s an entire website devoted to mobile marketing fails! Let’s read about this specific fail.

SMS campaigns can be a great driver for your business. The first mistake a lot of companies make, even if this one got step one right, is failing to include a call to action. But as demonstrated by iLoop, even if you get your CTA right, you still have plenty of opportunities to get everything else wrong. Just as important as your call, is the content you deliver after it.

iLoop forces a download on the user, they haven’t considered if their content will be viewed on a tablet or a mobile phone, their content is poorly created (low volume), and then they immediately send the user a text asking for information they already have.

Fail rating: 3/10

The Facebook Marketing Fail

Famously, General Motors decided to pull its nearly $40 million (yes, million with an M) in advertising from Facebook.com. While this started a massive debate on the merits of advertising on Facebook, it’s well understood that purchasing sponsored ads on the site isn’t the only way to market yourself on it. Likewise, it’s not the only way to find your way into a marketing fail.

This misleading marketing fail comes to us courtesy of yet another blog devoted entirely to epic marketing fails. Admittedly, it caught my eye because of its hockey logo — I’m a huge hockey fan. But reading further, that’s exactly what the advertiser in question was hoping for. The ad uses a misappropriated Ottawa Senators logo to encourage likes — for a dentist!

It’s a Facebook advertising bait and switch. Not only is the ad and the business misleading to its viewers, but it’s also a tacit admission that the business has nothing of value to advertise, and instead must use a completely unrelated brand to build their own following.

Fail Rating: 5/10

The Email Marketing Fail

Among some of the best ways to connect with existing or potential customers for your business is email marketing. It’s fast, can be automated, direct, specific, narrow-targeted, and can provide excellent calls to action. It’s also fairly easy to do. Unfortunately it’s hard to do right, and way too easy to OVER-do.

I’m a member of several email lists. It’s a great way, as a consumer, to stay informed with business happenings. Plus in rougher economic times, it’s a great way to keep abreast of sales and promotions that help me spend my dollar more wisely.

But there’s little worse in terms of business interaction than being bombarded by emails. Take, for example, this post by Marty Weintraub at Aimclearblog.com, who includes a screenshot that does well to illustrate the frustration of an overbearing email campaign.

While customers sign up for email lists to stay on top of your company news, they don’t sign up for lists to be nagged. If you send more than one or two emails a week, you’re sending too many.

Fail Rating: 5/10

The Ridiculously Bad

The QR Code Fail

With all the rage in advertising (mobile and otherwise) these days, the longevity of the QR code will be directly proportional to the ability of advertisers to use it properly. Based on the majority of examples though, QR codes are bound to disappear far before their prime usefulness is ever realized.

The web is filled with examples of poor QR code use, as well illustrated in this article at econsultancy.com. While there are more ways to do QR codes wrong than there are ways to do them right, my particular “favorite” is when a company includes a QR code in emails and email signatures.

It can be a very subtle mistake, but can be incredibly damaging to a brand when your target audience is web savvy. Why would someone use a QR code if they’re already online?

QR codes can be great for mobile advertising, but the use of a QR code in an email or its signature necessitates one of three things: printing the email to scan the code, scanning a computer screen with a smartphone, or scanning one smartphone with another smartphone.

Not only does this betray any sense a company has established about understanding online marketing, but it also serves as annoying and useless clutter in what could otherwise be a very useful and attractive marketing message.

Fail Rating: 6/10

The Harpo Fail

No, not the second-oldest Marx brother, Harpo is the name of Oprah Winfrey’s multimedia production company. Why is that important? Because her program helped to showcase our next marketing fail.

In 2009, KFC decided to boost the launch of a new product by introducing it on the Oprah Winfrey show. They, by Oprah proxy, promised two free pieces of grilled chicken sandwiched between a biscuit for every Oprah.com visitor that downloaded a specific coupon. While the coupon would only be available for 24 hours, KFC vastly underestimated the voracity of our nation, and our adoration of grilled chicken.

Just a few hours after introduction, the coupon was being used at thousands of KFC restaurants. So many, and by so many patrons in fact, that managers of stores began closing the promotion, ad hoc.

They refused service, they declined cash — and the patrons revolted. There were sit-ins, fights, arguments, and more. But the real damage was done to the credibility of KFC and its marketing partners. The problem wasn’t Oprah, it wasn’t the coupon, and it wasn’t the hungry, hungry public. The problem was a poorly thought out, and poorly planned marketing campaign.

Always consider the product (and discount!) you’re offering. Do this at the same time as you consider the medium by which you’re delivering it. Failing to do so could bring about a lot of embarrassment.

Fail Score: 7/10

The Invariable Insensitive Twitter Fail

While not part of a distinct marketing campaign, a recent kerfuffle by South American-based clothing store Celeb Boutique caused an innocent and completely unintentional Twitter uproar.

After the Aurora, CO theater tragedy, Celeb Boutique noticed that the hashtag #Aurora was trending. Completely unaware of the incident, Celeb Boutique took the opportunity to promote a product, by tweeting: “#Aurora is trending, clearly about our Kim K inspired #Aurora dress ;)” with a call to action and a link to the product they mentioned.

After about an hour, the offending tweet was removed, and CB began tweeting apologies — but not before plenty of people expressed their extreme distaste for the remark. While not necessarily a global failure, though that’s partially a good description because the company and its PR firm are based in Argentina, people in Colorado were most upset by the tweet.

However in the age of social media, just as your sales and specials can easily read a wide audience, so can your gaffes. CB spent the next several tweets apologizing for their mistake and informing their followers that they were located outside the US, and humbly added that they failed to research the trending topic before tweeting.

Apologies aside, the reputation of Celeb Boutique no doubt took a hit, and their mistake will likely be remembered for some time.

Fail Rating: 8/10

The Comprehensive Fail

In the fading summer of 2011, a popular content delivery service (pro-tip: think movies) committed not one, not two, but a series of blunders that many have compared to the infamous New Coke debacle. Who is it? Netflix!

Here’s the blog post that started it all, from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings himself. First, Netflix announced price hikes for its services and then their decision to split their streaming and DVD services at the same time. This prompted nearly two months of uniformly negative feedback. Where things really went downhill was in the 10th paragraph of Hastings blog apologizing for not explaining the changes better.

After raising prices and forcing users to visit a second service, Hastings expounded by letting people know that Netflix would stay as streaming, and the DVD-by-mail service would be renamed ‘Qwikster.’

In a post on Mashable, contributor Chris Taylor deftly recounts the ways in which the Qwikster launch and rebrand were so damaging to the brand.

The name was awful (easily misspelled, no product relevance, and of an antiquated design), splitting services lent itself to mass customer confusion, the fix caused problems rather than solving them, and the company lost the trust of thousands of subscribers. Almost a million, actually, according to Inc.com.

While the reputation hit to Netflix was famous and long-lasting, even more disastrous was the hit to their stock price. From a high of almost $300 in July of 2011, it closed at a low of $77 in late October. The stock saw a 60% drop after the price hike, and then another 35% drop after the Qwikster debacle.

Fail Rating: 9/10

While marketing mix-ups can range from faux-pas to all-out disasters, it’s important to consider the consequences of a marketing plan gone wrong during its formulation.

There’s no substitute for shrewd planning when creating your marketing campaign, and it’s just as important to consider off-the-cuff messages. But whatever you do, just make sure that your marketing campaign doesn’t end up like a fender bender on the highway: something people can’t stop staring at.